WASHINGTON — Activists and lawmakers are geared up for a final push against the latest Internet security legislation, calling on Congress to reject or dial back the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (PDF) because of the considerable power it would give government to examine Americans’ online activities.
A number of amendments already have been made to the bill as its supporters have tried to secure passage -– a vote is likely on Friday -– by clearing up ambiguities regarding what the law would allow the government to do.
CISPA’s supporters portray it as a bill focused on opening up communication between the government and private entities for the purposes of sharing information about imminent or emerging cyber security threats, with particular emphasis on those that threaten national security from foreign sources. Since its introduction last year, the scope of the legislation has been trimmed, and oversight of the powers it would grant has been broadened.
To many of the bill’s detractors, the changes aren’t enough.
Despite a so-called week of action, in which groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the ACLU, the Sunlight Foundation, Reporters Without Borders and more sought to raise awareness of their concerns about the bill, the number of co-sponsors for CISPA in Congress has increased to 113.
